Star-Spangled Bride

EIGHT

Dan finished his casserole and leaned back in his chair. "A repast for the gods. Good job, Gabe."

"It's nice to be appreciated." He slanted a glance at Ronnie. "May I offer the man a cup of coffee?"

"As long as you don't have one yourself." She got up, went to the refrigerator, and took out a gallon of milk. "Dan, bring some decaffeinated coffee when you come next time." She poured a glass of milk and brought it to Gabe. "Gabe's having a little trouble sleeping."

"What a nag," Gabe said as he sipped the milk.

She took Dan's cup to the coffeemaker on the counter, poured out the hot liquid, and after giving it to him, sat back down. "Nagging is sensible when dealing with unsensible human beings."

Dan chuckled. "Good God, you two sound like you've been married ten years. Pilsner might get off your back if he could hear you now."

Ronnie involuntarily tensed at the name. She realized with a sense of shock that the scene with Pilsner had taken place only yesterday. So much had happened since that interview on the terrace, it might have occurred a year ago.

"How much damage did he do?" Gabe asked.

Dan looked at him in surprise. "Didn't you see him on television? The story has been all over the networks."

"We haven't turned on the set," Gabe said. "How bad?"

Dan shrugged. "Not good. Pilsner's very credible, very upright, and doesn't come across as your typical bureaucrat."

"He's a patriot, not a bureaucrat," Ronnie said quietly.

Gabe ignored her. "Have you heard from Koras?"

"He's doing all he can but Pilsner's well respected in the administration. The news media is on your side and public opinion is rallying."

"Keep the pressure on. I want everythingdone that can be done to undermine Pilsner's position."

"No," Ronnie said. "Leave Pilsner alone."

"We can't leave him alone," Gabe said impatiently. "He's the key."

"Then it's a key we won't use," Ronnie said. "No slanted stories. No digging into his past to discredit him."

"He'stryinghardenoughtodiscredityou," Dan said. "He's had to defend himself, so he's pouncing on your background with both feet."

"I deserve it. He doesn't."

Dan looked at Gabe. "You're the boss. What do I do?"

"No, Gabe," Ronnie said.

He opened his mouth to argue with her and then closed it again. "Put it on hold, Dan," he said finally. "I'll get back to you later. Keep on issuing positive stories. Rehash the wedding. Make sure Koras is kept primed."

Dan nodded as he rose to his feet. "I'll keep you informed. I guess I'd better get back to Marasef."

"You could stay the night," Ronnie offered.

He shook his head. "Far be it from me to interrupt a honeymoon." He hesitated before he said to Ronnie, "Look, Pilsner's making somepretty grim noises. He'd throw the book at you if he got the chance."

"You already told me that." Ronnie smiled. "Duly noted." '

"I just don't want you to make any mistakes. You're safe here, but leave Sedikhan and you're in trouble."

He was saying that Sedikhan was a prison for her… and for Gabe if he chose to stay with her.

"She's not budging," Gabe said. "Where else would she get someone to cook for her?"

Dan chuckled, his expression lightening. "Yeah, I knew you had some use. John has a few business decisions he'd like you to make. Is it all right if I have him call you here?"

Gabe shook his head. "I'll call him."

"Whatever you say." Dan gave them both a casual wave and strolled out of the kitchen.

Gabe turned to her and attacked as soon as Dan left the room. "Stop putting blocks in my way. For Lord's sake, don't you want to win?"

"You don't know how much."

"Then we have to get Pilsner before he gets you, dammit."

"You wouldn't go after him if it wasn't forme. He's one of the good guys." She smiled without mirth. "And there are too few of them in Washington to waste. Somewhere along the way the politicians forgot what they're supposed to be doing up there."

Gabe's expression froze. "We the people?"

She nodded. "Do you know, I didn't have a formal education until I left Evan. We were always traveling and on the run, so I picked up what I could from correspondence courses and any books I came across. One of my favorite was a dog-eared volume of American history for children. It was full of things like Pilgrims and Indians at the first Thanksgiving and Betsy Ross sewing a flag and Nathan Hale dying for his country. A lot of those stories were pure fiction and pretty schmaltzy, but I believed them. I guess I still believe them."

Gabe smiled resignedly. "I think you do, heaven help you."

"Maybe heaven will help me." She smiled with an effort. "But it won't if we shoot down the good guys. So back off Pilsner."

He shook his head. "You're making a mistake."

"But you'll do as I say?"

"I'm not promising anything. I'll try to findanother way, but I won't have you sacrificed to Pilsner's standard of right and wrong."

It was the only commitment she was going to get from him, but the delay might be enough. There would be no reason to pursue Pilsner if she was not around to benefit.

She stood up and began stacking the dishes. "Why don't you find a deck of cards while I do these dishes? I don't think either of us is going to sleep any more tonight."

"May I ask what you're doing?" Gabe asked from the doorway of the kitchen a week later. He quickly strode forward to steady the ladder on which she was balancing.

"I'm shading these light bulbs with pink tissue paper." She glanced down at him with a grin. "Pretty romantic, huh?"

"You wish to arouse my libido in the kitchen?" Gabe asked. "My cooking must be getting pretty boring."

"Once I saw a television show that featured a sex therapist who said every couple should make love in unconventional places." She finished taping the paper and started down the ladder. "I want to be prepared."

"You refused the hammock. What could be more unusual than that?"

"Try me tonight, by the light of the moon. I howl at midnight."

"You do? That should be interesting." He regarded the pink tissue paper. "Do you realize there's every chance that paper will catch fire if the lights are left on too long?"

"We'll be careful," she said cheerfully. "It's only temporary. I'm going to phone Dan and tell him to bring a whole box of pink light bulbs next time he comes."

"Because pink is soft and there won't be glare." He shook his head, but his smile was tender. "Why not red lights?"

"I thought red would be a bit surreal. Pink is fine. Pink is good."

"No, it's Ronnie who is fine." He reached forward to kiss her on the lips. "All this isn't necessary, you know. It was only a temporary thing."

"Maybe. We won't take any chances."

"I believe I like you in this maternal mode." He slipped an arm around her and led her out of the kitchen. "What do you have planned for die bedroom?"

"Nothing maternal." Her smile faded as die full import of her words sank home to her. "Andthat reminds me. I want you to start protecting me."

"I'd say you're a little late," Gabe said dryly.

"Since we've been intimate in the extreme for the last week."

"Better late than never. It didn't occur to me." A possibility existed that she had been deliberately irresponsible. Perhaps she had wanted to have Gabe's baby. "I'm not alone in this. You should have thought about it too."

"I assumed you were on the Pill." His rare, warm smile lit his face. "A baby…"

"No," she said quickly. "Don't even think about it." She was thinking far too much about it herself. She had never thought of herself as maternal, but she knew she would want Gabe's baby even though it would complicate her life enormously.

"I can't help it. It intrigues me."

"Forget it. If I got pregnant…"

He went still. "You'd abort?"

She shook her head. "That wouldn't be my choice."

"Thank God. I was afraid I'd have to kidnap you and hold you prisoner until I could talk you into keeping it."

"For goodness sake, why are we talking aboutthis? I'm probably not pregnant, and from now on you protect me. Right?"

"Right." His smile deepened. "I protect you. It's a role that suits me to a tee."

She felt a flicker of despair. There it was again. Protection. Responsibility. They were growing closer every day, every hour, and Gabe's natural instinct was to guard anything and anyone he cared about. She had reached out to grab happiness for herself and Gabe was being caught in the trap.

"Stop frowning." With an index finger he traced the wrinkle that furrowed her brow. "I can practically see the wheels turning beneath those blond curls. It's your body. If you don't want a child right now, that's fine with me. I just wanted you to know that I'd want your child anytime, anywhere."

"Thanks," she said, emotion making her voice husky.

"You're welcome." Gabe bowed with mock politeness. "Just so you know I'm willing to oblige."

"I know." Her hand closed tightly around his. He had just gotten out of one prison and would oblige her to the point of making himself a prisoner again in lovely Tanadahl. "I've always found you very accommodating."

Dan arrived at Tanadahl at noon the next day. Ronnie ran out to the helicopter to meet him. "You're early. We didn't expect you until dinnertime. Did you bring my light-" For the first time she noticed the gravity of his expression. "What's wrong?"

He didn't answer. "Where's Gabe?" he asked as he jumped out of the helicopter

"In the study. He's trying to wade through some of that paperwork you brought last time." She searched his expression. "Is it Pilsner?"

He gently took her arm and propelled her toward the house. "I think we should wait until Gabe is present."

"I'm here." Gabe came down the front steps. "What's happened?"

"It's Ronnie's father. He's been shot."

Gabe muttered a curse as he came swiftly down the steps to stand beside Ronnie. "The Red December?"

Dan shook his head. "It happened in Tamrovia. He was dealing with a dissident group for arms and was caught in a raid by the Tamrovian authorities."

"How bad?"

"Critical." Dan turned to Ronnie and said gently, "They don't think he'll make it. I can't tell you how sorry I am to bring you this news."

"Are you sure?" she asked numbly. She couldn't believe that Evan was hurt, perhaps dying. He was one of those people who sailed through life. People around him got hurt, but never Evan.

Dan nodded. "Our sources in Belsen are very reliable. It took the Tamrovians a little while to identify him. He was traveling with an Irish passport under the name Robert Reardon."

"Where is he?"

"Being guarded at a hospital in Belsen, Tamrovia."

"Will you take me there in the helicopter?"

Dan looked at Gabe.

"How public is this information?" Gabe asked.

"It's our story so far, but it could break anytime."

Gabe turned to Ronnie. "Can I point out a few hard facts without upsetting you?" he asked quietly.

"Probably not."

"I have to do it anyway." He slipped his arms around her. "It could be a dangerous move foryou. The minute you cross the Sedikhan border, you're leaving yourself vulnerable to Pilsner. If we know about your father, then you can bet Pilsner will soon. It's a five-hour flight to Tamrovia. There may be a watch at the hospital by the time we get there."

"I'm not stupid enough not to guess that."

"You don't owe your father anything. He used you."

"I used him too. I tried to talk him out of arms running, but when he only laughed at me, I used his contacts, I followed him into a dozen hot spots to get stories."

"He brought you up like a ragtag gypsy."

"He did what he could."

"To make you a criminal like him. You don't owe him, Ronnie."

Evan, who had never believed in sentiment or obligation, would have been the first to agree with him, she thought sadly. But she had never been like Evan, and loving Gabe had made her willing to admit to herself how desperately she had wanted to know and love her father. This might be her last chance. "I don't know if I owe him anything for being my father, but I owe him for Said Ababa," she said unevenly. "He helped me save you. I have to see him, Gabe. I can't lethim die alone." She stepped back out of his arms and turned to Dan. "Will you take me or do I go on my own?"

"We'll take you," Gabe said. "Go in and pack a bag for us while I talk to Dan about arrangements for the trip."

"What arrangements?"

"You don't have a passport. We'll have to enter Tamrovia illegally."

"That will be a first for you." She wearily shook her head. "This is my problem. I shouldn't involve you in all this."

"You couldn't keep me out of it." He pushed her gendy toward the door. "Try to hurry. The sooner we get there, the better off we'll be."

The helicopter landed in a field a few miles outside Belsen, where a car and driver were waiting to take them to the hospital in the city.

"I'm making you a criminal too," Ronnie said as she watched the scenery flash by the window.

"I doubt if they'll deport me for helping my wife get to her dying father." Gabe's hand closed on hers. "Lord, your muscles are stiff as boards."

"I need to get there."

"I know it's seemed like a long trip, but we'realmost there. It should take about fifteen minutes to get to the hospital."

"Will they let me see him?"

He nodded. "I had Dan radio ahead. Our local station manager set it up."

"Thank you. I'm sorry to be so much trouble." She was silent a moment, and when she spoke again it was in a barely audible voice. "It isn't that I owe him. He's… alone, Gabe. He's always been on the fringe. He never let anyone close to him. I lived with him for eighteen years and he never let even me get close. He's so alone."

"Which made you pretty damn alone too."

"I don't think he could help it. Some people can't. I wanted him to love me, but maybe there was something lacking in him." She moistened her lips. "Maybe he didn't have the aptitude. You know, like I can't cook?"

His only answer was the tightening of his hand holding hers.

"I still can't believe this. He never thought he could be hurt. He said he had nine lives…"

They pulled up in front of the hospital a short time later. "Dan, go see Harry Spaulding and set up those arrangements I told you about and then come right back to the hospital," Gabesaid as he helped her out of the car. His grip was a warm support beneath her elbow as they made their way through the lobby to the bank of elevators. "It's room seven-twelve. We'll have to get clearance at the nurses' station before you'll be allowed in."

A few minutes later they were on the seventh floor and moving down the hall toward the nurses' station.

A plump, dark-haired nurse checked the chart. "Your name's on the list, but I'll have to see identification."

"How is he?" Ronnie asked.

"He's unconscious." The nurse handed back their identification. "You'll have to ask the doctor for any further information. He'll be making his rounds in another hour. Follow me." She got up and moved quickly down the corridor on silent white-shod feet.

A uniformed guard stopped them at the door, but at the nurse's nod he permitted Ronnie and Gabe to enter the room.

The room looked like all hospital rooms, sterile and pristine and without character. The scent was also the same-antiseptic and astringent. Only the man lying in the white-sheeted bed was an anomaly. Evan didn't belong here.

He shouldn't be in a hospital; he had nine lives.

"Evan?" she whispered.

He was going to die.

The certainty came to her as she looked at him. She had not believed it until this moment, but she had seen men on the verge of death before and Evan was very close.

Gabe could see it too. His hand tightened on her arm as he felt the shiver that went through her. "Okay?"

She nodded.

He got her the only visitors' chair in the room and set it beside the bed. "Sit down. I'll go get another chair for myself from the nurse."

"No, don't stay. I'll be all right." She sat down, her gaze on Evan's pale face. "Leave me alone with him."

"Are you sure?"

"He's never met you. You're a stranger to him. He was surrounded by strangers all of his life. I don't want him to-" She broke off and steadied her voice. "Wait for me outside."

He nodded and left the room.

She kept vigil all night and was vaguely conscious of Gabe bringing her a pillow, a cup of coffee, sometimes just standing beside her for a moment, his hand on her shoulder to let her know he was there.

It was close to four in the morning when he appeared again at her elbow. "The story has broken. The corridor is a mob scene of reporters." He paused. "And Pilsner's here."

She couldn't worry about Pilsner now. "We expected it, didn't we?"

He nodded. "There's no way I'm going to let him in here, but I thought you ought to know." He looked at Evan's still form. "I didn't want it to come as a shock when you left the room."

He meant when Evan died.

"Has he regained consciousness at all?" Gabe asked.

She shook her head.

"I spoke to the doctor. He may not."

"I don't care. No one is certain how much awareness people have in a coma. He could know I'm here."

Gabe nodded and left the room

Evan stirred a little before dawn. His lids fluttered and then slowly opened and focused on her face. For a moment she thought he didn't recognize her, but then he said, "Mushy… always… were."

"You told me it was one of my failings."

His smile was the sardonic one she knew so well. "Came running… to my… deathbed."

He knew he was going to die. She wouldn't insult him by denying it. She nodded jerkily.

"I… wouldn't have come to… yours."

She swallowed. "I think you would."

He looked at her and a flicker of expression crossed his face. "Maybe…"

He lapsed back into unconsciousness and died a few minutes later.

Maybe.

She sat there looking at him. "You would have come, Evan," she whispered fiercely. "Why couldn't you say it? Blast you, I know you would have come."

The tears she had held back were suddenly flowing down her cheeks as she stood up and walked stiffly to the door.

Gabe.

She had to get to Gabe.